The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, was in London on Thursday 1 March to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss the draft final withdrawal agreement, as presented on Wednesday 28 February by the European Commission (see EUROPE 11971). He also took pains to warn her about the illusions that the UK may have concerning the future relationship it hopes to have with the EU, as he explained on 23 February. This meeting saw an open and honest debate in a positive atmosphere, a Downing Street source commented shortly afterwards.
In any event, this visit was set against a fairly tense backdrop, following the publication of the Commission’s draft text, which lay great emphasis on the Irish question, amongst other things.
The idea of a common regulatory area on the island of Ireland, which has been rejected by May, has been presented by Tusk as the only way, at this stage, of avoiding a hard border between the two halves of the island. Before travelling to London, he stressed that he would be asking May whether London had any better ideas.
In a speech given in the morning before the employers’ association BusinessEurope, President Tusk said that he was certain that the member states would agree to the final draft agreement, reiterating the support of the Twenty-Seven for Michel Barnier's work.
Barnier also addressed the European employers that day and, like Tusk, said that he was looking forward to better proposals from London on the Irish issue. The EU negotiator also highly anticipates the speech to be made by May on Friday, which he hopes will allow all parties to move forwards.
Reiterating that the British red lines currently leave just one possible model, a free-trade agreement, the negotiator said that it was still possible for the UK to ask to stay in the customs union, which would allow for a simpler system to set tariffs and also had the advantage of fewer border controls, but that this obviously involves a balance between rights and obligations, he stressed. However, some people in the UK seem to think that the country can have all the advantages of the single market without the obligations. “Forget that”, the negotiator said.
A British government spokesperson said on Thursday 1 March that May’s speech on Friday on an “ambitious economic partnership” would constitute a genuine step forward, AFP reports, but did not provide any details.
On Wednesday, May firmly rejected the provisions of the draft agreement on the Irish question which, she said, would be tantamount to creating a regulatory and customs border in the Irish Sea. Through its steering group on Brexit, the European Parliament welcomed this publication, saying that London could not have a transition period without an agreement on the withdrawal and its principal components (citizens’ rights, Ireland, financial settlement, etc.).
London delaying over citizens’ rights during transition period
On Wednesday 28 February, the British government published a new position on the citizens’ rights during the transition period, in which it proposes that EU citizens and their family members may travel to the United Kingdom during this period on the same basis as today. This means that there will be no new requirements to work or study in the UK during the implementation period. This would also be the case for British nationals settling in the EU during this period, according to the text. London hopes to set in place a registration system for EU citizens and their family members arriving in the UK during the implementation period and choosing to stay for more than three months. This will help the government prepare for the future immigration framework by developing a better understanding of people arriving in the country in the longer term. The registration system will be simple and streamlined, and compatible with the European directive 2004/38/EC (article 8). Irish citizens will not be subject to the agreement and will therefore not need to register, in line with the existing provisions of the Good Friday Agreement.
Following the transition, the government will set in place a new immigration framework, but the UK will offer EU citizens and their family members arriving, residing and having registered during the transition period the status of permanent resident after five years of continuous and legal residence; a temporary status under British law will allow them to stay after the end of the transition phase, meaning that they will be able to stay in the UK legally if they work, study or are self-supporting during the five years required to obtain the permanent status, the text reads. They will also have the option of being joined by members of their family following the transition period, in the same way as British citizens.
Although London considers that this is already a generous offer and, furthermore, one that foreshadows the desired future migration system, the British government stresses that it does not agree with the Commission’s request for these individuals arriving after March 2019 to enjoy the rights intended for people already in the UK before the transition as set out in the provisional agreement of 8 December. The text states that the UK does not feel this is the right approach, arguing that the expectations of EU citizens arriving in the UK after the UK leaves will not be the same as those of people who came here before Brexit, and the same will go for British national settling in an EU member state. It should therefore be up to the United Kingdom and the member states to determine the rights and means of recourse that newcomers will have if they wish to stay beyond the implementation period, said London. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)